Other Cool Stuff

Friday, September 26, 2014

I
think it is important to say this: I am
not advertising for RC. I'm not endorsed
or compensated in any way. In fact, I
only know who the regional rep is because I got a blanket email from her saying
thanks for using RC. I am a member of the Breeder's Club, which enables me to
get the product at a slightly reduced price delivered to my door. I was a member of a similar "club"
at Purina, as well.

Original
Post:

Here's
the rub. I know of a great dog food that
does everything I want it to do. It's
high energy, low stool volume, super for the coat and the dogs attack the dry
kibble. The problem is the price. I pay $46/37.5# bag. I can drive 50 miles and pay $36, but if I'm
going to feed this product, I will buy it at my local feed store. I've tried Loyal Performance, by
Nutrena. The price is better, the dogs
love it and the energy level is high, but their coats are dull. I tried Black
Gold. Price is good and the dogs like
it, but the stool volume is large and the quantity to feed is much more than
the premium feed.

So,
I went to the Internet and Googled "the best dog food"..wow, that was
a lesson! Every brand had a DVM
testifying to the greatness of the product.
Every page had do's and don't's in feeding dogs. Every site said to beware of all the other
guys! Chicken meal ain't real chicken, only diseased animal innards are sent to
dog food, dogs need meat and offal and... fresh is best!

C'mon
my friends, in all the vet schools we have in this country, someone has researched the best way to feed hunting
dogs. What is the answer? I guess the
fact that it is a multi-Billion dollar industry doesn't help the flow of usable
information......

What
do you feed? Are you happy with it? Would you recommend it?

Update
12/29/2012

After
much research and trials and first hand investigation, after being satisfied
with one brand and then seriously disappointed with yet another recall on that
brand, I've settled on a brand I think incorporates all the features I think
are important. Royal Canin. For my dogs, Brittanies, I feed Royal Canin
Medium. I've had them on this feed for the last two hunting trips and all the
field trials this year. I put them on
the high powered feed RC Endurance (I think) for one hunting trip, but for the
cost and hassle of getting it, I went back to the Medium, which I can get a the
local PetSafe Store. None of the stuff
is cheap, but with my four main dogs, I think it is OK. The result is healthy dogs with healthy,
shiny coats, less tartar on the teeth, small stools. And, I'm only feeding them between 2 and 3
cups, depending on size....per day!

Update
2/17/2013

Now,
having put a full year of travel, hunting, trialing and training on my dogs
while feeding Royal Canin Medium, I can say with affirmation this is an
excellent kibble. I did notice the coat
sheen, the endurance and the small stools.
For my dogs, I feed between 2 and 3 cups per day- a little more on
trips. I travelled nearly 15,000 miles on hunting trips and perhaps half that
for field trials. Through it all, they
loved the kibble and it kept them going- with no additive. I say all that to
say this: Royal Canin may not be the best fit for you, but don't settle for the
cheapest stuff. Do the homework and find
them a good quality feed that will keep them energized and add years to their
life!

Update
9/26/2014

It's
been two years with my dogs solely on the RC Medium Adult. The results are the same- great energy level
(for competition and hunting), coats are glossy, endurance is excellent. I have changed my formula somewhat, in that
on hunting trips where the dogs are running hard 2-3 hours per day in heat,
snow, rain and over rough and vertical terrain, I will feed them the Puppy
Blend for medium dogs.
"Medium" doesn't mean anything other than the size of the
grown dog. The Puppy formula is 30/20
blend, which I think has more energy available.
Interestingly, I think the RC vets would challenge me and say the RC
medium has everything they need and the Puppy kibble may not have the best
balance of minerals and vitamins, etc. (I went to a meeting with the RC
development team and vets, and that was the message. The feed is specific and complete.) However, I wanted the extra energy and I
didn't want to use any additives and my dogs are only on the puppy kibble for
the duration of the hunting trip- usually 2-3 weeks- and then they are back on
the Adult. I don't feed any additives. I don't water the feed. I wait 20 minutes after feeding and then give
them all the fresh, clean water they want.
(Apparently, that is the best method for the dogs to obtain all
nutrients. Actually, research has shown
that if the dog is fed within 30 of completion of exercise, he will get 90% of
the nutrients in the feed. The numbers
may be off some, but you get the drift. That is not practical for me as I feed
at the end of the day- 5 dogs at once, but it is the best way.)

I've
also learned this. There are MANY good
dog foods out there. This one works for
me. If anyone tells you there is only
one way to feed your dog, be skeptical.
A very good, not too expensive, feed is Purina. They also are one of the only companies with
their own research and development department.
They can afford it. A lot of the
research in to athletic dogs and their nutrition comes from Purina. I have 8 dogs- 5 are athletes. I can afford to feed whatever I want, so I'm
willing to pay more. Many, not all,
times you get what you pay for. I'm
watching the price of feed skyrocket.
I'm convinced a lot of that price increase is due to increased demand
due to increased awareness by the consumer. In other words, if it's trendy and
a "hot" item, the cost per pound will increase. Notice I said
"cost per pound". Purina and RC started inching the price up AND
decreasing the size of their bags.
Originally, with Purina, at least, they were using a 50# bag. It's down to 37.5# now. RC is down to a 30#
bag (35# for the Breeder's Club). Like I
said though, if you find a good feed that does what you want and your dogs
THRIVE on it, go ahead and get it.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

I started keeping a journal pretty soon after my first bird hunt. I fell into it easily since I was keeping a running journal everyday, so I was used to the routine. My wife bought me this fancy one a few years ago, but I've used notebooks, pads, pen and paper, pencil...anything I can write on.

The thing I really like is the way I can open to any page, any book, read a few lines and suddenly, I'm there again. The smells, weather, dogs, hunting partners. The good stuff, the mundane stuff and even a little bad stuff- all of it daily and duly recorded for posterity.

At a minimum, I like to know where I was, what dogs, who I was with, how the dogs did, the weather. Now, due to technology advances, I like to put down the distance the dogs ran, the number of birds they point/flush/retrieve. I will put down the motel and phone number, any names I can remember of people I met and phones numbers. Also, any comments I had during the hunt with a particular dog. Remember, a diary should contain all the information you need to relive the days- good and other. I've found, that over time, I pretty much remember the good and forget the other stuff!

By looking at these few pages, I'll be able to remember when I ran my puppies for their first, long cast in the grouse woods!

Get ready for some fireside reading now, while you are still logging entries. The day will come when you will be unable to follow a bird dog up the coulees, across the prairie, through the grouse woods. Consider it like a retirement account. Invest now and reap the benefits later!!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Years of planning and thought go into breeding for bird dogs. My small program has, so far, produced two puppies for me. One, Pearl (below), is a product of that work. Smallish, at 31# of solid muscle, she's a thinker, and, at times, exeedingly bold. This is her first bird hunt and first exposure to anything but pen-raised quail. The first cast out of the truck, I teamed her with her mother, Ruby, a fast, big running girl, who's very solid and forgiving of mistakes in her bracemates. Pearl ran with Ruby for the first 30 minutes, at times out of sight, gaining some sense of how to hunt, where to look, what obstacles there were, etc. After a bit, she came back to me and started quartering 40-80 yards in front with an occasional cast to check out interesting stuff, just like we practiced at home.

About an hour into the cast, she whipped her head up turned left and started moving slowly deeper into the alfalfa. Finally, she locked up, tail high, head high. "Whoa!" I said quietly. She took a few steps and locked again. She was about 50 yards away and I was moving quickly through the alfalfa to get to her, keeping an eye on her, one for the birds, and a third eye on where I was stepping (!). "Whoa, girl!" I chided. Another step.....4 Sharptail Grouse jumped up 20 yards in front of her. She froze, then stepped again, and another 5 Sharpies took to the air! She broke and off she went. "I'll get one for you, daddy!" She yelled over her shoulder. I didn't shoot.

A few minutes later, a very fired-up Brittany puppy rolled up to me with lots of wonder in her eyes and a sense of purpose in her heart. It was 38 degrees, overcast and 10-20 mph wind from the north. It was a perfect day.

Pearl

We worked out of the alfalfa and in to the CRP grass, headed back to the truck. The boy in me wanted find those Sharpies and have another go at them. The tired legs said time for a break. It was another type of cover for Pearl, and she watched Ruby for a while before tackling it on her own. We moved along slowly, just enjoying the day. Suddenly, Pearl swapped ends and locked up, again! This time, Ruby was 10 yards behind her and back her point, as well. Thinking she might creep in again, I told her Whoa, but she didn't move a muscle. I came in from the front right at her (the best set up) and had the bird trapped and Pearl could see me the whole time. About 20 feet in front of Pearl, a single Sharp got up and I dropped it. Pearl was on it when it hit, and Ruby was right there, too! Jealousy took over and momma let Pearl take the bird. She picked it up and ran to me and put it in my hand! Right there, in a CRP field on the Montana prairie, we had us a little "love-in", as I grabbed her and told her how special she was, and how proud I was of her. True to form, she took it for about 10 seconds and looked at me and said, "There's more birds out here. Are we going to play or hunt?"

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Walking in over a nice point. Nothing can approximate the anticipation of the flush, to the truly addicted.

The end result of the years of training and bonding is a harvested game bird. Of course, that is merely the physical outcome. The psychological result and benefits, for the dog and gunner, are incalculable.

My 9.5 year old main man, Ace, retrieving a Sharptail Grouse to hand. Things only get better with age.

Shack, 12 months old, (right), is getting a lesson from Pepper over a Sharptail Grouse, on the prairie of Montana.

This was a cold, wet day and a hunters dream. Lots of birds, easy access and good dogs, young dogs. Today, it will still be cold, but perhaps not so wet. My other dogs issued the ultimatum, "Play Us or Trade Us, Boss!" I'm starting to hear the rumblings of discontent from the back of the truck.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

We arrived at our eastern Montana destination so early, we had time to put the dogs out for a quick run. The weather was perfect! From the 90's earlier in the week, it was now 45 and drizzle. Scenting conditions were never better and the wind made it even easier for my "first timers".

This old bridge is one the mental landmarks I use to realize I'm really in hunting country!

Ruby isn't pointed, she's winding something interesting. It turns out, a large group of Sharptails fed through this area. We went on to get them up a few minutes later.

This is Shack. This blurry photo (I was so excited, I'm guess I'm lucky I even got a picture at all!) is his first ever retrieve. Of any wild bird. He was on the ground working with me, by himself, getting his sea legs, when I noticed he suddenly locked up, then moved, looked around, looked at me, locked up again, then dropped his head- as 15 Hungarian Partridge got up 10 yards in front of him! I dropped one into the alfalfa and called him back to look for it. He made a pass by, doing 100 mph, and headed back out. I loved to see the excitement, but I wanted to find the bird, as well. After a minute or so, I looked up and noticed him nosing around about 50 yards away, then he jumped in, picked up the wounded bird and retrieved it to me! Not bad, Shack! That's a lot of good stuff happening in one cast for a pup!

Bird Dogs and Bird Hunting

After more than 20 years of bird dogs and bird hunting, I was able to free myself of the day to day "making a living" that is the curse of all those men and women to whom bird dogs and bird hunting is a way of life. Traveling around the country, from September to March, I indulge my passion for bird dogs and bird hunting with my Brittany bird dogs. Recently, I added to the pack by keeping 2 pups from the last litter of 11 that Ace and Ruby had. While having 4 dogs and traveling the country can be problematic, I've noticed I don't need to worry as much about "running out of dogs" before the trip is complete. With a little prevention, care and planning, I can rest dogs 1 day in 3 and still have 2 on the ground in the morning and 2 more in the afternoon. In the event a dog is laid up (cut pad, intestinal distress) another dog can step up. Bird dogs and bird hunting will make you a tremendous manpower (dog power) planner!

Another beneficial side effect is the planning of actual trips and times of the year. As an example, September is my traditional Montana Sharptail and Hungarian Partridge month. Great birds for the pups, they hold tight and live in easy country, It's a good way to get the dogs back in to "hunting" mode. October is Pheasant and Ruffed Grouse month. Usually the Dakotas and either Wisconsin or Minnesota will get a visit from the Brittany pack. In November, my bird dogs and bird hunting show will visit quail states like Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas and Arizona. December will be the Mearns Quail deployment to mountains of Southern Arizona followed by Gambles Quail in Arizona and Blue Quail in New Mexico. January is a toss up and for the last several years has been Nebraska for pheasant, Oklahoma for Bob Whites, Arizona for Gambels and New Mexico for Blues (again). However, I've been known to head to Idaho for Valley Quail and Chukar.

In February, in order to instill some discipline and keep the boys and girls in top form, I start hitting the NSTRA Field Trials real hard, with an eye to the National Trials in February, April and May.

While I know this schedule with my bird dogs and bird hunting looks to be excessive, I look at it like a cup of water with small leak. I'm not getting any younger and the water in the cup is the time I have left. Thank God, I'm in excellent health (no thanks to my younger years) and still have the drive to chase the Chukar and Huns, but time will advance none-the-less and before too long, I will be remembering and wishing instead loading up the Beast of Birdin' with dog boxes and shotgun shells.

This BLOG is a way for me to document my fun with bird dogs and bird hunting. I can also look at products and test them on the road, under actual hunting conditions. I enjoy doing that and I've found some real gems in equipment and techniques.